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A plea for rationality on the eve of 2012
Dec. 31st, 2011 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frameacloudTrigger warnings: end of world, debunking end of world, cults, suicide; not graphic, but saddening.
Summary: I'm not aware of any groups of otherkin who currently believe the world will end in 2012, but some have previously believed so. Believing that the world will end often leads people to do regrettable things, so I hope that no otherkin will succumb to that dangerous belief.
For the past few years, fears that the world will end on 2012-12-21 have gained increasing mainstream publicity. This prediction is based on a New Age interpretation of a quirk in the ancient Mayan calendar. Anthropologists say this is a misinterpretation of the Maya.1 New Agers claim that planets will align in destructive ways, among other life-threatening astronomical events. However, NASA says that all of the predicted world-ending events are unlikely to happen on that date, or ever, depending on the particular prediction. Read the article on Space.com to see NASA debunk each of the predictions.2
Historically, there have been innumerable end-of-the-world predictions, and every single one has failed, leaving people with the consequences of believing in something that was false. People who prepared by quitting their jobs, selling their homes, and selling all their worldly possessions... they face the consequence of finding themselves impoverished, having needlessly given up all their advantages. People who prepared by committing suicide because they thought time was so short anyway... it turns out they could have lived long lives after all.
I am not aware of any groups of therianthropes, otherkin, or vampires who currently publicly connect their therianthropy, otherkin-ness, or vampirism with fears about 2012 or other end of world predictions, but these concepts have previously been linked together on occasion. An article on Otherkin.net from 2002, "Otherkin behavior patterns,"3 says that there have been some inexperienced otherkin who believed that the world would end, or change so that magic becomes tangibly real, and named 2012 as a likely date. In A Field Guide to Otherkin, Lupa wrote that when people first become aware of magic or of being otherkin, it's common for them to go through a phase in which they believe their actions are crucial in stopping the world from coming to an end, and that she went through such a phase herself.4
We should also remember a group that had no relation to our movement, but which included some beliefs that have some traits in common with our own. The Heaven's Gate cult, famous for committing mass suicide in 1997 to prepare for the end of the world, was led by a couple of people who claimed to be extraterrestrials incarnate in human bodies. They got the idea from earlier New Age books on the topic of extraterrestrial "walk-ins." Also inspired by the concept of "walk-ins," the Heaven's Gate leaders claimed that their followers had the opportunity of moving into newer, better bodies crafted by aliens after their old bodies died. They willingly killed themselves, convinced that this ritual was a way to attain a good life.5 If only they could have had enough skepticism to consider whether their philosophy was untrue, to look at the situation from a completely secular and pragmatic viewpoint, then they would have seen that it made no sense to die an early death. This cautionary tale shows that philosophy and spirituality can be beautiful and inspiring, but can also be dangerous and misleading. Skepticism, rationality, logic, and responsible behavior are all indispensible tools for making wise decisions and keeping ourselves safe.
Gentle reader, if you are one who believes that the world will end within your natural lifetime, I don’t expect that any single article will be enough to change your mind, so I will not try, although others will. You’re entitled to believe in whatever you like. However, for your own safety, and for the safety of your loved ones, please act responsibly. As a cautionary tale, please take a look at this list of over a thousand modern-day people who were harmed by fearing the end of the world.6 If you believe that the world will end, please weigh your judgments with skepticism, for safety’s sake.
If you’re thinking of doing something big as a way to deal with the end of the world, please first pause to consider whether that action would still seem like a wise decision if the world didn’t actually end, and how it would then leave you and your loved ones with the consequences of your big action.
During the coming year, Otherkin News will attempt to collect updates about any groups of otherkin who publicly emerge with beliefs about 2012, although I hope that there will not be any. I will always link such updates with the above warnings, cautionary tales, and pleas for responsible behavior.
- O. Scribner
( Sources )
Summary: I'm not aware of any groups of otherkin who currently believe the world will end in 2012, but some have previously believed so. Believing that the world will end often leads people to do regrettable things, so I hope that no otherkin will succumb to that dangerous belief.
For the past few years, fears that the world will end on 2012-12-21 have gained increasing mainstream publicity. This prediction is based on a New Age interpretation of a quirk in the ancient Mayan calendar. Anthropologists say this is a misinterpretation of the Maya.1 New Agers claim that planets will align in destructive ways, among other life-threatening astronomical events. However, NASA says that all of the predicted world-ending events are unlikely to happen on that date, or ever, depending on the particular prediction. Read the article on Space.com to see NASA debunk each of the predictions.2
Historically, there have been innumerable end-of-the-world predictions, and every single one has failed, leaving people with the consequences of believing in something that was false. People who prepared by quitting their jobs, selling their homes, and selling all their worldly possessions... they face the consequence of finding themselves impoverished, having needlessly given up all their advantages. People who prepared by committing suicide because they thought time was so short anyway... it turns out they could have lived long lives after all.
I am not aware of any groups of therianthropes, otherkin, or vampires who currently publicly connect their therianthropy, otherkin-ness, or vampirism with fears about 2012 or other end of world predictions, but these concepts have previously been linked together on occasion. An article on Otherkin.net from 2002, "Otherkin behavior patterns,"3 says that there have been some inexperienced otherkin who believed that the world would end, or change so that magic becomes tangibly real, and named 2012 as a likely date. In A Field Guide to Otherkin, Lupa wrote that when people first become aware of magic or of being otherkin, it's common for them to go through a phase in which they believe their actions are crucial in stopping the world from coming to an end, and that she went through such a phase herself.4
We should also remember a group that had no relation to our movement, but which included some beliefs that have some traits in common with our own. The Heaven's Gate cult, famous for committing mass suicide in 1997 to prepare for the end of the world, was led by a couple of people who claimed to be extraterrestrials incarnate in human bodies. They got the idea from earlier New Age books on the topic of extraterrestrial "walk-ins." Also inspired by the concept of "walk-ins," the Heaven's Gate leaders claimed that their followers had the opportunity of moving into newer, better bodies crafted by aliens after their old bodies died. They willingly killed themselves, convinced that this ritual was a way to attain a good life.5 If only they could have had enough skepticism to consider whether their philosophy was untrue, to look at the situation from a completely secular and pragmatic viewpoint, then they would have seen that it made no sense to die an early death. This cautionary tale shows that philosophy and spirituality can be beautiful and inspiring, but can also be dangerous and misleading. Skepticism, rationality, logic, and responsible behavior are all indispensible tools for making wise decisions and keeping ourselves safe.
Gentle reader, if you are one who believes that the world will end within your natural lifetime, I don’t expect that any single article will be enough to change your mind, so I will not try, although others will. You’re entitled to believe in whatever you like. However, for your own safety, and for the safety of your loved ones, please act responsibly. As a cautionary tale, please take a look at this list of over a thousand modern-day people who were harmed by fearing the end of the world.6 If you believe that the world will end, please weigh your judgments with skepticism, for safety’s sake.
If you’re thinking of doing something big as a way to deal with the end of the world, please first pause to consider whether that action would still seem like a wise decision if the world didn’t actually end, and how it would then leave you and your loved ones with the consequences of your big action.
During the coming year, Otherkin News will attempt to collect updates about any groups of otherkin who publicly emerge with beliefs about 2012, although I hope that there will not be any. I will always link such updates with the above warnings, cautionary tales, and pleas for responsible behavior.
- O. Scribner
